WILKES-BARRE, PA (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University women's volleyball team (6-13) fell in both of their non-conference matches on October 6 at the Wilkes Tri-Match, hosted by Wilkes University. The Gothic Knights lost to host Wilkes University (14-8), 3-1 (27-25, 25-11, 21-25, 25-12) in the opening match, before falling in three sets, 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-13) to Penn State Altoona (4-14) in a neutral-court meeting in their second match of the afternoon.
 
The Gothic Knights struggled on the attack for the day, hitting .046 in the first match and -.056 in the second match. Three Knight players did reach double-digit kills for the two games combined: junior opposite Pamela Florimon (Teaneck, NJ/Memorial) (15), junior outside hitter Stephanie Duque (West New York, NJ/Memorial) (11), and senior outside hitter Amber O'Donnell (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) (11).
 
MATCH 1: Wilkes def. NJCU, 3-1 (27-25, 25-11, 21-25 25-12)
The Gothic Knights got off to a fast start in their first match of the day, taking a quick 4-0 lead on the strength of a pair of aces from Ware and a pair of kills from Florimon. The Colonels didn't take their first lead of the match until 15-14, and the Knights had the lead as late as 21-20. However, Wilkes benefitted from three straight NJCU errors to take a lead. NJCU forced ties at 24-24 and 25-25 before a pair of kills clinched a 27-25 win for Wilkes in extra points. The second set was all Wilkes, powered by a 9-0 run by the Colonels late in the game.
 
The third set of their first match was the lone set the Knights won on the day, and it required a strong finish. Trailing 20-18 late in the set, the Knights rattled off four straight points—and seven of the final eight points —to win the game. Florimon had four kills in that run, including the last three points of the set.
 
The Colonels rolled in the fourth set, however, starting strong and keeping the Knights at arm's length for the entirety of the game. Leading 15-10, Wilkes scored eight consecutive points to elevate the lead to 23-10 before prevailing 25-12.
 
Senior libero Georgina Rayo (Jersey City, NJ/McNair Academic) did not play on the day, but three Knights stepped up to finish with double-digit digs in her stead: Ware (17), O'Donnell (11), and Florimon (11).
 
Florimon finished with 12 kills and hit .250 (12-4-32) to claim a double-double and Ware also had a double-double, adding 23 assists and three aces to her 17 digs. Duque totaled nine digs and eight kills. Freshman outside hitter Karina Rosado (Linden, NJ/Linden) led the Knights with four service aces and added nine digs.
 
Junior opposite Jamey Mikovich (Nesquehoning, Pa.) had a particularly strong match for Wilkes, finishing with 17 kills, 13 digs and six blocks while hitting .294. Sophomore middle hitter Christie Challenger (Schuylkill Haven, Pa.) added nine kills at a .350 percentage and four blocks. Junior defensive specialist Juliet Betke (Poplar Grove, Ill.) had 15 digs and sophomore defensive specialist Kristie Najdek (Bethpage, N.Y.) contributed five aces. Freshman setter Karlye Huffman (Sugar Run, Pa.) dished 33 assists and eight digs.
 
MATCH 2: Penn State Altoona def. NJCU, 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-13)
The Gothic Knight attack couldn't get going against Penn State Altoona, as the team finished with more errors (23) than kills (18) on attack, and as a result, they lost in three sets to the Nittany Lions.
 
The 18 kills for NJCU were spread rather evenly across the roster, as O'Donnell led the team with five kills. Ware did tally 14 assists, and O'Donnell tallied 14 digs, but that was it for double-digit performances from the Knights.
 
The Knights only held a brief lead during any point of their latter match on Saturday, as they went ahead 15-13 in the first set, thanks to a 6-0 run that featured kills from Ware and O'Donnell. However, the Nittany Lions ran away late with the first set, 25-19.
 
In the second set, NJCU fell behind quickly 11-2, but they did make things interesting with a 5-0 run of their own, with kills from O'Donnell and freshman outside hitter Yaidettive Vega (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson), as well as a pair of aces from O'Donnell.
 
In the third and final set, the Knights found themselves down 15-3 before splitting the final 20 points of the set, but it was too late, as the Nittany Lions picked up their fourth win of the season.
 
PSA hit .213 as a team with 33 kills and landed 10 aces. The Lions had 15 players see time. Senior outside Kelsey Bristol (Troy, Pa.) was the kills leader with nine while also adding a team-high 10 digs. Sophomore setter Lauren Moran (Johnstown, Pa.) added 19 assists, nine digs and three aces. Junior setter Emily Bryan (Waynesboro, Pa.) chipped in nine assists, seven digs, and five kills.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series vs. Wilkes: Wilkes now leads 4-1. It was the first meeting since October 25, 2014.
• Series vs. Penn State-Altoona: First meeting.
• Pamela Florimon (Teaneck, NJ/Memorial) had the first double-double of her NJCU career. It was the first time she reached double figures in digs in her career.
• Florimon reached double figures in kills for the ninth time in her career and seventh time this season.
• Amber O'Donnell (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) reached double figures in digs for the 40th time in her career.
• Shaylah Ware (Newark, NJ/Science Park) reached double figures in digs for the 15th time in her career.
• Ware had her fourth double-double this season and seventh of her three-year NJCU career.
• Ware had 816 career assists (ninth place) and needs 184 more to become the sixth NJCU player with 1,000 career assists.
• Ware has 153 career service aces in 216 sets and moved into a share of 10th place in school history. She is tied with Lucille Villaplana (249 sets, 2002-04) and Bernadette Fash (333 sets, 1992-95).
• O'Donnell moved into 14th place with 863 career digs. Next on the list: Christina Cocucci (222 sets, 2003-04)

 
UP NEXT:
NJCU travels to New York, NY to face The City College of New York (6-8) for a non-conference match on Tuesday, October 9 at 7:00 p.m.
 
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